Halloween had been a much discussed topic in the Jean household since early September. I knew that I wanted Kayla to be Cindy Lou Who (from "How the Grich Stole Christmas), as she has been compared to good ole' Cindy countless times since her birth from friends, family, and even strangers. As this was probably the last year that I would have total say in Kayla's costume (the girl is pretty opinionated and stubborn already), I knew it was showtime. Ninny graciously agreed to make Kayla the iconic pink nightgown that Cindy wears on Christmas Eve when she meets the Grinch. And while I thought it would be pretty cool to have a "couples costume" for the kids, I couldn't quite shake Avery from his conviction that he wanted to be a robot this year. We found a cool, homemade robot costume online, but Phil pointed out that Avery would not be able to sit down at school while wearing this costume. So the two Jean boys took off to the Halloween store where Avery conquered his fear of overpriced, lifesized animations of horror, and picked out a Star Wars Storm Trooper outfit that he fondly named the "white robot". Whatever, the kid was happy.
As a mom, I am officially declaring Halloween as one of the busiest and most stressful "holidays" of the year. First of all, there is an obligatory school party and you are expected to bring in a snack for said party multiplied by however many children you have. This year, we were in Cleveland when the signup list went out at school, so as a result, we got stuck with bringing pineapple and strawberries for each of the kids' classes. Compared to opening a bag of cheesy poofs, fruit takes a lot of time to prepare, you know, what with all of the washing, drying, and cutting. I do enough of that on my own time, thank you very much. Another annoyance with this holiday is that you are expected to go to work. Yup, news flash: there is no paid time off for Halloween! So on top of having to prepare snacks for a party, get costumes in order, AND drop your kids off at school on time, you are also expected to attend your kid's party, following your normal work day. This causes you to rush around to get your work done early and then sprint over to school, only to anguish over which kid's classroom to spend more time in. I rebelled and took Kayla to Avery's classroom...babies are so boring anyways. Then, after you walk around and interact with a gazillion children who are hyped up on high fructose corn syrup, you have to load your own sugar-laden children into the car and speed home to feed them dinner that they don't want to eat because they are already full on cookies, candy, and cheesy poofs (note, NOT on the age-appropriately sliced fresh fruit that you labored over the night before). And THEN, just when you are about to fall asleep and your feet hurt from running all day and your patience is just about worn thin with giving directions to children who somehow lost their sense of hearing with the excessive consumption of sugar and trans-fats during the day, it is time to go trick or treating. Last time I checked, the six o'clock hour is not the best time in the Jean household, even on a normal day. So, as a parent, you have to be on your game, whispering in your child's ear to say "trick or treat" and prodding them to say thank you, while sandwiched in between, you are hissing, "Take ONE...just ONE". Sheesh. I'm exhausted just reliving this goulish day. Halloween, you are truly the 26.2 of holidays.
Avery enjoying his plate of snacks at his party...apparently, robots only eat cookies.
Kayla in her Cindy Lou Who get-up.
My sweet girl.
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